Coming back down I-10 from the coast there are a number of small and large desert communities that have their own arts ecosystem, the Coachella Valley which encompasses Palm Springs and Indio, California being chief amongst those. The valley was a sanctuary for movie stars in the heyday of Hollywood.…

Busking in Santa Monica Santa Monica, California is a very pedestrian friendly, pet friendly, bicycle friendly town. Bikes are available for rent by the day, there are bicycle taxis and even a system in place where one can pickup a bike from one location and drop it off at your…

Santa Monica Although it is not listed in the classic song by Bobby Troupe, Santa Monica is, unofficially, the last stop on Route 66. It sits on the ocean and is home to the original muscle beach and the place where Los Angelinos go to get away from the city.…

On to Pasadena The city of Pasadena is known for the Rose Bowl, the Tournament of Roses, the Rose Bowl and DooDah parades. It is a beautiful place, with mild weather year-round and artistic influences from many cultures. There is the annual Chalk Festival where artists create incredible masterpieces on…

Kingman, Barstow, San Bernadino Kingman, Arizona and Barstow, California are smaller communities of less than 30,000 and sit at the crossroads between Las Vegas, NV and Phoenix. In Kingman, the cultural center is the Mojave County Economic Development which concentrates its effort on the cultural history of the area that…

We're traveling through Arizona and New Mexico studying how some municipalities help to support live music and the music community. This stop, Flagstaff, Arizona Black Bart’s is a steakhouse surrounded by an RV park in the middle of Flagstaff. Pretty ordinary sounding, but for over thirty-five years they have collaborated…

California Blog We are off to the golden state for ten days to learn what other municipalities are doing to support live and local music and musicians. We are heading west on I-40 through Windslow, Flagstaff and Kingman, on to Barstow and then south to San Bernadino, LA and Santa…